News & publications

Two cases involving members from Essex Court Chambers have been nominated for the Most Important Decision Award at the upcoming GAR Awards 2020. The Court of Appeal’s decision in Minister of Finance (Incorporated) & 1Malaysia Development Berhad v International Petroleum Investment Company & Aabar Investments PJS, in which Eversheds Sutherland instructed Toby Landau QC, Peter […]

In a short note, Stephen Houseman QC discusses the implication of terms into arbitration agreements under English law and, in particular, whether there is scope for an implied mutual obligation to prevent parties taking steps to circumvent or subvert their express positive obligation to submit relevant disputes to arbitration. This may ultimately involve recognition of […]

It is with great sadness that the members of Essex Court Chambers share the news of Johnny Veeder’s untimely passing away on Sunday, 8 March 2020 after a long illness. Johnny died peacefully surrounded by his family. Johnny’s loss to Chambers, to the Bar and the wider English legal community, and to the world of […]

The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has unanimously decided that the prosecution of Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, is admissible before the Court. Gaddafi is accused of committing murder and persecution as crimes against humanity, contrary to the Rome Statute of the ICC. The charges arise […]

Raymond Charles Eyre and Montrose Developments (Private) Limited v Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka – ICSID Award of 5 March 2020 By the Award, the Tribunal (Professor Lucy Reed, Professor Julian DM Lew QC and Professor Brigitte Stern) dismissed the Claimants’ invocation of the UK-Sri Lanka BIT (the BIT) on jurisdictional grounds on the […]

Members of Chambers are delighted to have been awarded Commercial Litigation Set of the Year and Lucas Bastin won International Arbitration Junior of the Year at the Legal 500 UK Awards 2020. The ceremony, which recognises and rewards the best legal professionals from the last 12 months, was held in Northumberland Avenue on the evening […]

In this article, Richard Hoyle examines the practical implications of the decision of the Commercial Court in A & Another v C & Others [2020] EWHC 258 (Comm) in which Angeline Welsh appeared for the Third Defendant. The decision confirmed that it is not possible to obtain cross-border evidence from non parties in support of […]

An ICSID tribunal has dismissed a claim brought by UK investors who sought to build a luxury hotel complex on Mauritius’ first UNESCO-designated World Heritage site. The case concerned the Le Morne peninsula in Mauritius, an area of outstanding natural beauty with deep cultural significance as a place of refuge for escaped slaves during the […]

Essex Court Chambers features in an article in The Times that highlights the event series ‘A career as a commercial barrister: A great choice for women.’ The article, published on Thursday 20 February, spotlights the collaborative events, being hosted jointly by Essex Court, One Essex Court, Brick Court and Fountain Court Chambers, directed at encouraging […]

Commercial Court follows other recent high court decisions that it has no power to make an order against a non-party to an arbitration under S44 of the Arbitration Act 1996. In a judgment issued on 12 February 2020, Foxton J followed other recent high court decisions, in particular Cruz City 1 Mauritius Holdings v Unitech […]

62 individual members of Essex Court Chambers have been recognised across 20 practice areas in the latest edition of the Chambers Global Guide 2020, following its release on Thursday 13th February. Chambers features in a total of 7 ‘ranked departments’, listing members of the set as global specialists in the following practice areas: International Arbitration, […]